Bubble tea meets Starbucks at West Lafayette's Latea

The house bubble tea at Latea Bubble Tea Lounge, 358 E. State St. in Wabash Landing. Latea offers customers a variety of beverages and snacks, including seasoned fries.
(Photo:
John Terhune/Journal & Courier
)

Latea, Greater Lafayette's first full-fledged bubble tea shop, is a blend between an old-school Taiwanese boba stand and a health-conscious Seattle coffeeshop.

Its inspiration is tradition — bubble tea, dubbed "the drink that changed the world," was invented in Taichung, Taiwan, in the 1980s — but its mantra is decisively trendy. The sitting area is modern-lounge-meets-Japanese-garden. Orbs of light hang down the tall ceilings like luminescent aliens while Katy Perry plays over the speakers. A glass case displays designer cupcakes and chocolate ganache vanilla cream puffs. A wood-framed chalkboard proclaims, "We only use fresh brewed organic tea."

The self-dubbed "bubble tea lounge," which opened at Wabash Landing last week, prides itself in its menu of more than 40 drinks. Ginger soy milk, kumquat lemon, xian cao jelly milk, passion OJ black tea and green tea latte with red bean are only some of its thirst-quenching options.

Owner Jack Hsiao knows his bubble tea. His grandmother sold boba in carts in his hometown of Taichung. He won't give away his recipe, but he'll tell you the boba, or tapioca balls, are glazed with honey and sugar cane syrup and boiled from scratch every few hours — instead of packed with corn syrup and preservatives and cooked only once a day, a common practice in bubble tea and frozen yogurt shops.

"Every flavor was created by me," Hsiao said one a recent afternoon, taking a break from greeting customers with complimentary house fries garnished with fresh-grated Parmesan and cilantro. "Nothing is premade — because that's something I'm very opposed to."

Hsiao first conceived of Latea while he was a student at Purdue University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, where he also worked as a sou chef and caterer for Mitch Daniels. In 2012, after months of touring teashops in Seattle and California, he finally decided on a business dedicated to organic, fresh-brewed tea.

"I wanted to combine bubble tea with Starbucks-style branding," he said."Just think of it as a coffee latte, but instead of espresso we use concentrated tea."

He's also pretty sure Latea's the only place in Greater Lafayette to get wasabi-flavored tofu fries (other options include sweet potato and curry seasoning). It's just one of the many things that make the place unique.

A prominently Chinese clientele streams in and out of the store. Some pick their favorites — taro milk tea, house milk tea — while others try out some of Hsiao's creations.

Jasmine Ma, a recent Purdue grad, said the tapioca are a standout.

"They're not too chewy, and they're not overly sweet, either," she said. "I like how you can customize it."

Ma said she'll be back for the green tea latte with red bean. She's glad there's now a dedicated bubble tea place in town — and about time.